tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post4348609457416590812..comments2023-10-25T11:41:14.436-04:00Comments on I Expect You To Die!: On Her Majesty's Secret Servicesnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06181997862745538999noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-88756950925595025392013-10-15T20:33:31.354-04:002013-10-15T20:33:31.354-04:00I just watched this on Blu-Ray. Spec-tac-u-lar. ...I just watched this on Blu-Ray. Spec-tac-u-lar. The est. shot of the mountain the next morning during the ski chase is amazing- the snow all sparkly and stuff... It was like watching this for the first time.<br /><br />The editing during the car chase when Tracy crashed the Stock Car Race is pure Michael Bay- all impact with no or little sense of space. Fortunately Hunt and Glen have the good judgement to know when to turn it off so that the sequence has real impact around the rest of the very extended chase.AdmNaismithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14820645840172514564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-90799021459059105022013-01-04T15:36:05.253-05:002013-01-04T15:36:05.253-05:00I don't know if it's the best Bond film, b...I don't know if it's the best Bond film, but it's definitely my favourite. Sure there are some problems and nitpicks, but I think that's the case for all Bond movies if you start looking. Lazenby is a bit rough but by the end of the film I had completely bought into him as Bond. <br /><br />We'll always wonder what the movie would have been like if Connery had made it, but it's very likely that there wouldn't have been as much care taken in the screenplay, action, directing, etc. Not to mention they may have decided to go for a less experienced actress as Tracy, robbing us of the great Diana Rigg. As far as I'm concerned, Rigg far outweighs an inexperienced actor in the lead role. And yet, Lazenby is never lost in his scenes with her and the two really click.<br /><br />I would also like to shamelessly admit this film makes me cry every time, especially the scene where Bond tosses his hat to Moneypenny. Such a great scene - simple, speechless but with so much emotion - it's fantastic and really underlines the relationship between the two characters. I'm crying just typing these words - damn it! PCabezuelonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-63150448025487249992012-12-13T19:31:25.025-05:002012-12-13T19:31:25.025-05:00Oh I don't know anymore. Having rewatched the ...Oh I don't know anymore. Having rewatched the older half of the franchise lately, I'm no longer convinced of my own premise. And I'm at a loss to how something like Skyfall House works in the context of the theory.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-81507270903196553842012-12-13T16:03:09.990-05:002012-12-13T16:03:09.990-05:00I really like Siskoid's theory on the timeline...I really like Siskoid's theory on the timeline. It would be pretty weird from the perspective of a late-1960s moviegoer, but in retrospect, it seems to address just about every problem.David Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985574193396205518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-6545352232314649912012-11-10T13:16:46.130-05:002012-11-10T13:16:46.130-05:00OHMSS is one of my favorite Bond films ever, and t...OHMSS is one of my favorite Bond films ever, and the bobsleigh chase one of my favorite action scenes ever. The film ends on a real bummer and manages to be what few (if any) other Bond films have - it's TOUCHING AS HELL. I personally have no trouble with Lazenby. In fact, I think you needed a new Bond to accept the courtship to Tracy as real. Connery's Bond is such a rat bastard to women, I would have assumed his affair with her was a trick throughout.<br /><br />On the question of how Bond and Blofeld can not know each other, I've started to think that it's because the stories aren't told in order. Obviously that's true in the strict sense that the movies don't follow the novels' chronology, but here I'm thinking that opening sequence clips aside, OHMSS happens between Thunderball (from which the last souvenir is) and YOLT. So when they meet in YOLT, Bond has already lost his wife, already knows Blofeld, and maybe Blofeld's scar is a result of Bond fighting him in OHMSS or in an untold adventure.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-71876385347032414932012-09-20T11:37:57.926-04:002012-09-20T11:37:57.926-04:00Good blog!
There is a book written by a fan (only...Good blog!<br /><br />There is a book written by a fan (only available in french)called: James Bond au service de sa majesté la Suisse<br />here is the link thank to club James Bond France http://www.jamesbond007.net/007/boutique/7/7/boutique.htm Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-36043754242206486402012-05-12T11:41:09.546-04:002012-05-12T11:41:09.546-04:00Just to pick up on an error in your otherwise exce...Just to pick up on an error in your otherwise excellent blog: <br /><br />You state (correctly) that it was Sir Hilary who told Bond that the de Bleuchamp tombs were in Augsburg. However, that was ALL he told him. Bond's mistake was in saying the tombs were located at Augsburg Cathedral, rather than in St. Anna Kirche (or Church) which is ALSO located in Augsburg. That wasn't a piece of information Bond got from Sir Hilary (and is a detail Sir Hilary would have known) but was the error that eventually found Bond out!<br /><br />Anyway, OHMSS is still my favourite Bond movie, helped in no small part by the stunning soundtrack.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-51269636644866184772009-12-18T16:26:48.585-05:002009-12-18T16:26:48.585-05:00Welcome, Juanita.
I respectfully disagree with y...Welcome, Juanita. <br /><br />I respectfully disagree with your appraisal of Lazenby (although I will concede the possibility that his lack of experience/ability in some ways made him more suitable for this particular film). And in my defense, I'll note that I'm far less harsh on him than most commentators...snellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06181997862745538999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-65892672270090769772009-12-18T12:35:52.889-05:002009-12-18T12:35:52.889-05:00I don't think that Lazenby was a handicap to t...I don't think that Lazenby was a handicap to the film. If I must be honest, I don't think he was a handicap at all. "OHMSS" wouldn't be the highly regarded film that it is today, if the Australian had merely been a mediocre or bad actor. The movie's story is too personal. It wasn't a typical action film in which the leading man can simply sleepwalk his way through the story and let the action and scantily clad babes do the work for him. "OHMSS" was a story that required Bond to become more human than he was before or after. And Lazenby did the job. He made Bond a human being. Just as Daniel Craig did in "CASINO ROYALE".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-10102098660964153662008-11-14T21:41:00.000-05:002008-11-14T21:41:00.000-05:00Oh, and recall that the Goldfinger DB5 has that re...Oh, and recall that the Goldfinger DB5 has that rear *shield* of armor *plate*. Obviously they wouldn't need that if the windshield was truly "impenetrable".David Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985574193396205518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-63759619123055363542008-11-14T21:39:00.000-05:002008-11-14T21:39:00.000-05:00Also, there's "bulletproof" and then there's "bull...Also, there's "bulletproof" and then there's "bulletproof." A windshield that will stop a few 9mm pistol rounds might not stop armor-piercing rounds from an actual assault rifle, which is (I think) what Irma Bunt was firing. (And presumably, Blofeld and Bunt would have properly prepared.)<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, the article doesn't elaborate, but wikipedia says "Since manufacturing glass of usable thicknesses capable of fully stopping most bullets cannot currently be done, the industry generally refers to it as bullet-resistant glass instead."<BR/><BR/>(Come to think of it, the Goldfinger lady did seem to have pretty heavy armament too... maybe it just wasn't AP ammo.)David Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985574193396205518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-54247435365191540502008-09-10T02:40:00.000-04:002008-09-10T02:40:00.000-04:00Concerning..."there's no way to make sense of the ...Concerning..."there's no way to make sense of the fact that Blofeld doesn't recognize Bond. None."<BR/><BR/>Me and several Bond fans in my circle of friends back-in-the-day came up with the fact that James was made up to look Japanese in YOLT so Blofeld had only seen him that way so that's why it took a while in OHMSS to be outed. Weak solution I know (Bond's Japanese make-over appears pretty weak) but hey, growing up as a Marvel Comics continuity junkie and also loving the continuity in the Fleming novels I was desperate (back then - now days, like your current take on it, it really doesn't bother me - the film still ROCKS!!!)<BR/><BR/>TED!!!The Fan With No Name!!!https://www.blogger.com/profile/05853698858679938211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-35620546334955539762008-08-01T22:36:00.000-04:002008-08-01T22:36:00.000-04:00Barking--Since Bond retired from MI-6 to marry Tra...Barking--Since Bond retired from MI-6 to marry Tracy, it's unlike they'd let him take valuable govt property, so that wasn't THE car. Either he went and bought himself a normal one, or M gave him a decommissioned one as a wedding gift.snellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06181997862745538999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-52296894335370182882008-08-01T20:48:00.000-04:002008-08-01T20:48:00.000-04:00The "Your Royal Highnesses" part in the wedding ce...The "Your Royal Highnesses" part in the wedding ceremony probably referred to some foreign royalty, rather than the British queen. Tracy's dead first husband was a Count, after all, so she probably had some Eurotrash royal acquaintances through mixing in his circles. <BR/><BR/>Two more random notes;<BR/><BR/>Angela Scoular, who plays Ruby, also appeared in Feldman's wacky '67 Casino Royale. She played Buttercup, one of Agent Mimi's girls at McTarry's mansion. She's the one who's "testing the bathwater" for Niven-Bond. <BR/><BR/>How come Tracy is shot through the windshield of Bond's Aston-Martin? In Goldfinger, Q specifically tells Bond that the DB5 has bullet proof windows, and this is proven when the little old Swiss gatekeeper lady at Goldfinger's Swiss lair fires her machine gun at the car and bullet marks appear on the windshield right in front of Connery's face without breaking the glass. We know the Aston DBS used in OHMSS is likely a more-or-less official car since it has that nifty hidden compartment in the glove box with the gun and sight that Bond uses in the pre-title sequence, so given that it's 5 years newer than the DB5, wouldn't this car also have a bulletproof windshield?Baskingsharkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04291271082726171915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-81753704194892440312008-08-01T18:17:00.000-04:002008-08-01T18:17:00.000-04:00I've never seen Kojak, but I'm not entirely sold o...I've never seen Kojak, but I'm not entirely sold on Savalas as Blofeld. He just doesn't seem oily enough, and, frankly, I liked the creepy/campy Donald Pleasance Blofeld. As with Mike Myers, when I think of a Bond Supervillain, my mind immediately goes to that version of Blofeld.<BR/>My only other real problem with this movie is Blofeld as an olympic-caliber skier. I just find it hare to believe that he'd be out in the middle of the chase with the henchthugs.<BR/>Otherwise it is a great film. Lazenby wasn't a perfect Bond, but he tried. And as you and the others have noted, he really sells the chemistry with Diana Rigg and Bond's reaction to Tracy's death.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14107703953043579119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-76170788635464995812008-07-25T17:13:00.000-04:002008-07-25T17:13:00.000-04:00Hahaha. Good point.I'll strive for a no-prize some...Hahaha. Good point.<BR/><BR/>I'll strive for a no-prize somewhere else then. ;-)Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-51411499810788823842008-07-25T00:03:00.000-04:002008-07-25T00:03:00.000-04:00Actually, Siskoid, that's the solution proposed by...Actually, Siskoid, that's the solution proposed by the "comedy" Casino Royale 1967, which is somehwat ironic because they threw that out there before anyone had even considered the possibility of a different Bond. <BR/><BR/>Assuming he's not a Time Lord, I almost think that we have to accept it like a Bewitched/Darrin situation. The Lazenby "flashbacks" early in OHMSS show the producers meant this to be the same person. As for further evidence, Moore visits Tracy's grave in FYEO; the David Hedison Felix Leiter recognizes Moore and Dalton as the same fellow, as does General Gogol. Plus, Moore and Connery each recognize several different men as the same Felix, which shows how things work in this universe. <BR/><BR/>Besides, Bond movies aren't about continuity, anyway. Just as I don't worry over how Nick Fury could have fought in WWII, or how M*A*S*H lasted longer than the actual Korean War. I don't worry about the impossible length of Bond's career, or the different Bonds, any more than I worry why the U.S. military had laser gun technology in Moonraker but never again. (OK, I do worry about it, as we'll see when I get there, but only in the context of that movie--I just ignore it when I get to another film)<BR/><BR/>Think of it like "Have I Got a Story For You" from Gotham Knight: each version is just a different perspective on the same legendary character.<BR/><BR/>As for Bond ordering a Budweiser or a bourbon--A) I don't drink the same thing 100% of the time, and B) look at those two bars--no WAY they would serve vodka martinis!snellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06181997862745538999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-84831883617189781062008-07-24T23:17:00.000-04:002008-07-24T23:17:00.000-04:00What do you think of my take on the multiple actor...What do you think of <A HREF="http://siskoid.blogspot.com/2006/12/many-faces-of-james-bond.html" REL="nofollow">my take</A> on the multiple actors as Bond concept? (Provided you've ever seen it.)Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-15126586376530286482008-07-23T21:20:00.000-04:002008-07-23T21:20:00.000-04:00Wow -- just discovered your blog here. OHMSS is no...Wow -- just discovered your blog here. OHMSS is not just my favorite Bond film, but one of my favorite films of any type, ever. It's everything you say, and the awkward moments with Lazenby mostly come early on, and nothing else after that bothers me. In fact, I don't think Connery could have done the barn scene or the ending any better than Lazenby did.<BR/><BR/>I'm looking forward to following your blog through the rest of the films. (I rated all of the Bonds myself, years ago, in the early days of my own blog.)Kelly Sedingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-79528693276549176122008-07-23T14:43:00.000-04:002008-07-23T14:43:00.000-04:00Creative suggestion, Billjac. Perhaps that could e...Creative suggestion, Billjac. Perhaps that could explain Diamonds Are Forever, as well. A whole clan of Blofelds.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, I'm not sure it works. Bond is specifically hunting for Ernst Stavro Blofeld in OHMSS (and yes, he uses the full name), and Draco's search pointed him to Telly Savalas.<BR/><BR/>Now, maybe Draco screwed up and found the other Blofeld. But a)Bond asks Blofeld how many hundreds of millions he's asking for this time...certainly implying it's the same Blofeld from YOLT, Thunderball, etc. b)Blofeld's ransom is amnesty for past crimes. Maybe blackmailing the world runs in the family, but I'm thinking that this is clearly the same Blofeld we've seen before c)if this was a different Blofeld, you'd think that Bond would have mentioned it-"Oi, you're not the right Blofeld" or "you're as bad as your cousin" or something.<BR/><BR/>Still, an intriguing idea...a whole clan of Blofelds...(In one of John Gardner's continuation novels, Blofeld's daughter did wreak some havoc...).snellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06181997862745538999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-57324625780300674772008-07-23T13:50:00.000-04:002008-07-23T13:50:00.000-04:00Because Blofeld doesn't recognize Bond and because...Because Blofeld doesn't recognize Bond and because he doesn't seem to be working with S.P.E.C.T.R.E. I've always figured that Savalas was playing a different Blofeld, maybe the other Blofeld's cousin. Not as an after-the-fact rationalization either; I came out of my first viewing thinking I had just missed where it was explicitly stated in the film. Is there anything in the movie that excludes that as a possibility?billjachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09260406336065905545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-18583753688127569222008-07-17T12:08:00.000-04:002008-07-17T12:08:00.000-04:00I have to say this is my all-time fave 007 movie. ...I have to say this is my all-time fave 007 movie. I don't think Lazenby was that much of a handicap, really. Granted, he's no Connery, but then, if Connery was the star, who knows what form the film would've taken? Having a new Bond for the first time gave EON the chance to scale everything back and try a different tack. And this WAS the first time they had a new Bond, so a lot of the faults you mentioned in your review, about them constantly reminding us that this was the same character, whilst totally accurate, were only there because they weren't sure how the audience was going to take it. I think they learned from it, because Roger Moore's debut in <I>Live And Let Die</I> was completely different, as they actually go out of their way to differentiate his Bond from Connery's, not try and clone it like they did with Lazenby. as I said, though, I don't think Lazenby is that bad, and his last scene shows he could act. And he's the only 007 to bed two different women in the same night (Although, technically, Connery had a threesome with the Gypsy girls in FRWL, but Lazenby had two different girls in two different rooms in about an hour of each other, that's some feat!)<BR/> And you're right about Savalas. He's a serious physical threat, more of a match for Bond that Pleasance or Gray is, a far more threatening Blofeld. And he doesn't dress up in drag like his successor.<BR/>Oh, and I'd like to mention the fantastic photography in this movie, it looks awesome, especially the skiing scenes, and, of course, the avalanche, which was a fantastic achievement for the pre-CGI time it was made in.Mickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00134603038522951084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-71753258949239758092008-07-12T20:04:00.000-04:002008-07-12T20:04:00.000-04:00Agree with you one hundred percent on:1. The theme...Agree with you one hundred percent on:<BR/>1. The theme song. Just seeing the film title today got it playing in my head right away.<BR/>2. Savalas's Blofeld. I think that you're right that the people with a big problem with him in the role are just thinking "Haw haw! Kojak as a Bond villain? That's just lame!" Not a position that I respect (luckily, though I'm just the right age to have been affected this way, I never watched Kojak).<BR/>I also love the fact that this movie happens at Christmastime, with Blofeld having a Christmas tree set up right in his evil lair, and even greets a recovering-from-knockout Bond with "Merry Christmas, 007!" Evil he may be, but I'm sure all his henchmen got a bonus and a bottle of cognac or something right around when this movie is happening...<BR/>O<BR/>therwise, well... I actually don't disagree with anything, except that I'm way less sympathetic to the anal fussbudgets who get really upset by the "other fella" line in the teaser. They need to either lighten up or pretend it didn't happen, or if it's something they really need an audience in order to pump up their rage over it and feel important, then count me out.Jack Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05347116217773724467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1338209608815525267.post-67410636877172192212008-07-12T20:03:00.000-04:002008-07-12T20:03:00.000-04:00What kind of world do we live in where one has to ...What kind of world do we live in where one has to go out on a limb to declare Savalas the best Blofeld? I don't even want to meet the people who would argue that Pleasence or Gray or that guy from For Your Eyes Only are better. <BR/><BR/>I guess a case could be made for Max Von Sydow, but does he even count?Michael Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12514945570212261283noreply@blogger.com